I Was There

August 3, 2006

I was there
the night they appeared
awesome in their splendor,
robed in their dark vibrant hues
of sky blue, lightening yellow,
sunrise orange and red,
pale moon white,
they split the heavens
obliterating the firmament.

These wholly profane creatures
who spat fire from their mouths:
scorching the earth with their breath,
lapping up blood and death
with their forked tongues
casually watching us flee
like terrified ants
from their stinging eyes.

I was there
the night the fireballs arrived
and the bombs burst scattering
shrapnel and bullets into the city streets
with their indiscriminate fury.

Whole cities turned to rubble
by more than the blasts and explosions
but by the terror of the flame
I stood frozen feeling the ice in my blood
while the stars fell around me
white shining lances of fire.

I was there
and I am still here
despite the scars
and the battle fatigue
and the weary hesitance

I don’t want to bear witness
to another tragedy
I don’t want to watch
my comrades die and my country destroyed

but something deep within me
spurns me onward, ever onward
until the day I finally witness
the breaking of the dragons’ spine.

I just finished the Dragonlance Chronicles, my first books of any of the Dragonlance series. I loved them, all 1300 pages. What a great summer reading escape. If only it were so easy to escape what’s happening in the Middle East.This poem is for Berem and for my friends in Israel and Lebanon. You can find good and evil in every dragon, and prejudice on every side. The real challenge is to find a place to meet in the middle.

Welcome to the Beach

Stretch, relax, enjoy the sound of the ocean and the smell of the salty air. Open up a can of something refreshing, wiggle your toes in the sand, and surf your way around the page...

You'll find adventures, love, melancholy, seriousness and silliness in these pages. But whatever you do, please leave your mark commenting on what you find buried in the sand, whatever hidden treasure you discover.

Take Some Sand Home With You

If you would like to order a copy of the chapbook, "Talking to Myself: Poems from Now and Then", please click on the link below. The chapbook features a total of 32 original poems from the web and from other sources, and is available for $10. Proceeds go to maintain and expand the site, and to support my poetry habit!